Quickies: Placentophagy, Gamergaters’ Latest Ethics Trolling, and How Privileged People React to Injustice

What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Eat Your Placenta – “One argument in favor of ‘placentophagy,’ as it’s scientifically known, boils down to pretty much ‘But all the other mammals are doing it!’ (Most of them do, anyway.) Though as anyone who’s owned a dog can tell you, not everything mammals choose to eat is necessarily a great idea.”

To Catch a Dick – Referencing a recent speech by Amy Schumer: “But I felt a lot more than empowerment in that line. I felt a critique of the the whole arduous complicated ridiculous game that is having to prove oneself through one’s ability to get laid — the game that says that female value is predicated on sex.” From Courtney.

The reaction of the Gamegaters is remarkably similar to the reaction of the racist media to the McKinney swimming pool incident which in turn is remarkably similar to the reaction of the establishment media of the time to lynching in the South.

Faced with a set of facts they immediately look for an interpretation that supports their vile world view and broadcast it as unassailable truth. Then as facts emerge to challenge their interpretation they double down again and again and again.

The McKinney swimming pool incident really isn’t very different from the Ferguson incident except that the person began filming it before the police arrived and there was no opportunity for racists to muddy the waters with invented eye witness accounts. This time the police did not rally round to support a colleague who had gone rogue cop.

But still we have Fox News out there making sure that no racist is left un-outraged busy spewing hate and false claims about the girl ‘disrespecting’ the officer or otherwise asking for it. Not much has changed since the Megan Kelly’s of the day were sadly explaining how black men were asking for lynching by raping them their white women.

Gamergate is simply the other pole of the continuum from lynching through police brutality to online mobs. Instead of joining together and committing violence or cheering on violence by proxy, the gamegaters whine about being the powerless minority.

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The Skepchick Network is a collection of smart and often sarcastic blogs focused on science and critical thinking. The original site is Skepchick.org, founded by Rebecca Watson in 2005 to discuss women’s issues from a skeptical standpoint.